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There has consistently been an overriding narrative in society that to lose weight one must partake in a diet. The diet usually consists of someone restricting themselves from consuming certain foods, such as carbohydrates. However, the reality is that these diets simply do not work and are an ineffective way to maintain weight loss for a long-term period.
Movements to stop the popularity of fad diets highlight research which explains how people who begin a diet on January 1st typically stop around the 12th of January. Research also suggests that 83% of people who partake in a diet end up gaining back more weight than what they had lost. A diet is only a short-term solution, it does not provide a long term, sustainable solution for losing weight.
Dieting can also be harmful to our health. By restricting ourselves from certain foods / food groups we may be depriving our bodies from essential nutrients. Take for example, the keto diet (a diet which restricts the consumption of carbohydrates). This diet can contribute to medical problems such as low blood pressure, kidney stones, dizziness, decreased energy and increased risk of heart disease. Therefore, whilst diets like these may provide weight loss results there is also the very real danger that they will cause harm to the human body. It makes the purpose of a diet seem completely pointless as it does not actually assist in achieving a ‘healthy lifestyle’ despite the diet industry wanting to make you think that this is exactly what following a diet will do.
It can also be argued that the idea of a diet is only promoted as it is so profitable. The diet industry is worth around two billion pounds. The whole industry works by targeting people’s insecurities and pressuring them into fitting a societal standard of beauty (that being idolising a slim look and demonising bodies that are deemed overweight). This seems cruel, shameful and extremely backwards. The fact of the matter is that even if everyone did the exact same workouts and ate the same food, our body shapes would all still be different. Society is progressing to become more accepting of all different body types, which is seen through the rising popularity of the body positivity movement. The promotion of dieting is a backwards mentality that has no place in the modern world.
The healthier, better alternative to dieting is simple. Eat foods that will nourish and energise your body whilst performing exercises that will release those feel-good endorphins. Diets simply do not work and are a waste of time. They are a short-term fix that do not produce long- term solutions.
Works Cited
‘Don’t go on a diet this January’ (2021) https://stopfaddiets.com/
Moerbeck Maureen, ‘Why diets don’t work’ (2020), https://www.nutritionist-resource.org.uk/blog/2020/10/02/why-diets-dont-work
Helms Natalie, ‘Ketogenic diet: What are the risks?’ (20 June, 2019), https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/ketogenic-diet-what-are-the-risks#:~:text=The%20keto%20diet%20could%20cause,%2C%20liver%2C%20thyroid%20or%20gallbladder.
Is 'eating foods that will nourish and energise your body whilst performing exercise' a diet in itself? ;-)
Good point! I think the essence of it is that we do not forcefully restrict ourselves from eating certain foods. We should eat what makes us feel good and energised. If someone really wants a piece of cake and that is what's going to make them feel good, then they should eat it. This in turn will also prevent dangerous habits such as binge eating which happens when people forcefully restrict themselves from eating a certain food for a period of time. In terms of exercise, it is important that as a society we shift the focus and purpose of exercise solely from losing weight to aiding our mental health and wellbeing.
Well, if you look at what the definition of a diet is, the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it has habitual nourishment.
Meaning, that out bodies need to be constantly provided with nourishment, either in the form of food or drink at regular intervals.
Of course, a diet will not strictly be the same for any one individual. But the point that I am trying to make here is that based on my understanding of the definition of what diet is, everyone does it. That is to say everyone diets - provides nourishment to their body when necessary. I just find it strange that the only time people say they "diet" is when they are exercising and their meal plan has to change.
So, to answer your above question, yes, this is a diet in itself because we are providing nourishment to our bodies.
Cool, let's say you've proved that dieting is ineffective. What does any of this have to do with time? None of this consumes time. How can something that doesn't consume time, be a waste of time?
The OP's opinion is nonsensically stated and for some ridiculous reason no one's talking about it =/. I have no idea why this question was even approved with this kind of wording.
It actually has everything to do with time.
Many people who participate on a toxic diet are consumed by it, a majority of their thoughts and TIME is spent worrying, stressing and guilt shaming as they constantly think about their food choices / body image etc.
I am going to link below an article of woman who expresses her frustration and upset about how much time she has spent obsessing over food in a negative manner.
A lot of dieting and restricting foods result in triggering the homeostatic pathway in the brain which causes you to think about food, and what do all these thoughts and obsessing take up? You guessed it, time.
I think the title is appropriate as dieting literally does waste time (mainly due to the toxic obsessions it can create).
Nevertheless, thanks for the comment!
Here is the article: https://www.reneepletka.com/blog/2019/12/31/i-waste-so-much-time-thinking-about-food-and-my-body
I agree with most of the points of this argument, and I do believe that dieting is very culture-oriented and prescribed according to the dominant standards. However, there are cases when a healthy diet (a bit of everything on the menu, or customised on the individual's needs) is desired and required for health / medical reasons, and can be a very beneficial part of a person's quality of life. Also, a person may be drawn to a particular diet because it may be something appealing to them or fitting their lifestyle. I agree that there are many cases when someone is forced unto a diet because they think this is how they will change their bodies according to society's standards, which is wrong. Difference should be embraced and celebrated.
I agree with you that dieting is a waste of time. You provide some very real and convincing support for your arguments and I like this.
Also, if I might add though, my main reason that I see dieting as a waste of time is because of the (negative) perception that media, the fitness industry, etc., as you have mentioned, has created around what the concept or perception of "diet" or "dieting" is.
If you read the comment that I responded to on Turi's question, you will understand better. But basically, I said that I can't understand why people say they are only "dieting" when they exercise and change their meal plan for the better or to better their overall health.
We all diet everyday because dieting is just supplying our bodies with nutrients and nourishment when we need it.
TL;DR: It depends on how you define 'dieting' to determine if it is a waste of time or not.
If we define a diet as something that is short term, aimed to get fast, and often unhealthy results, then yes - I believe that dieting is a complete waste of time.
However, if 'diet' is defined using the definition found in [Oxford Learners Dictionary] (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/diet_1), which is stated as 'the food and drink that you eat and drink regularly', then by this standard dieting is not a waste of time as it is essentially the nutrients that a person eats day-to-day.
Fad diets are a waste of time because they aren't sustainable, meaning that if you lose a fad diet to lose weight quickly, you will gain the weight back quickly and could possibly damage your metabolism in the long run.
I think that choosing to eat healthy, balanced meals is more of a lifestyle choice than a 'diet', so for this reason, I don't think that it is a waste of time because it is beneficial to a persons health overall.
There is a difference between "changing your diet" and "dieting".
Simply put, if you're 100lb overweight and your weight isn't changing, that doesn't mean you get to "work off" 100lb of weight, and then to back to how you were doing things before "now that you've lost the weight". It doesn't work like that.
If you have to run a mile a day and eat kale to be at your ideal weight, you will only be at your ideal weight so long as you CONTINUE to run a mile a day and eat kale.
And that only works if you REALLY like running, and REALLY like kale.
This is why "dieters" tend to yoyo so much. It isn't something you get to just "do" and then "be done with". It's a lifestyle change that has to persist.
So I would argue that "dieting" is a waste of time, willpower, and stress. Instead, "changing your dietary habits" is what needs to happen. This should generally happen slowly, with a few changes at a time. Enough that the changes aren't a major inconvenience.
If they become too much of an inconvenience, you will either long to undo it, or you will drain your willpower trying to push through it. That might work for lifting a set at the gym, but not for being in the habit of showing up to the gym week after week.
TLDR; Calorie control is essential to living the best quality of life - for some.
The whole point of life is to live it. As
somebody who has lost 3 stone at 11, regained it plus a serious amount of interest to the point where I weighed 23 stone, and am currently in the process of getting back down to 15-16 stone, dieting is something I have a lot of experience with.
I know how it feels to be category 3, or morbidity obese. It isn’t a nice feeling. Of course this may be subjective, however I doubt many people would feel able to convey their best side or hold a degree of allure or confidence when fitting in a car is a pain, waking up stairs nearly winds you and you’re constantly terrified about breaking exam hall chairs.
Then there is the issue of feeling childish and, from an outsiders point of view, difficult to respect. I say this with personal experience, people don’t respect you, notice you, or take you seriously when you’re 23 stone. I appreciate that my case and somebody else’s cases will be totally different.
The point is, that my weight spiralled as a result of poor, almost nonexistent control when it comes to not only what I eat, or how much I eat, but the mindset attributed to overeating. A rut begins to form, and as on gets bigger and bigger, they eat more to comfort themselves, and worse, use food as a reason to wake up in the morning.
Hence, dieting isn’t about losing weight, it is about controlling calories. I know I regret getting myself into this position, and I know many others are in it too. It is a noble strength to be able to control calories in a healthy way, and so dieting is far from a waste of time.
Ultimately, the society we live in has a natural allure towards those who appear sorted. Outward appearances are a quintessentially important aspect to making oneself look like they have it sorted out.
So to conclude, dieting leads to control, control leads to fitness and health, which enables the individual to function and present as their best, their true selves.
I don't even know what this means... How is the act of doing something that you have to do anyway, less than usual, a "waste of time"? This question is nonsensical.
Dieting is useless since dieting people mostly rely on food as a reward too much, rather than having good eating habits.
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